siberian iris

17 years ago

I have a Siberian Iris. Well lots of them now. About 6 years back I was Trout fishing a Booneville,Ny stream I've been to many times. I noticed some Flowers growing in the water which I researched to be SIBERIAN IRIS "wings of night". They were all over the bank for miles (still are) way out in the woods miles from anywhere. I thought there would be no chance of them growing in my garden on dry land but I took the risk and stuffed as many as possible in the creel(along with the trout) and my pockets. To my surprise they grew fine out of the water even tho originally they were in a foot of it. I have since found a second variety that is (i think) "REDDY BLUE". The question is:how did they get way out there? It must have taken them 50 years to get that far spread. Or is it possible these 2 are native to NY or that one stream? Is it normal for Siberians to grow in so much water and still handle my dry land front yard? It seems odd to me for them to grow both ways. I had five groups at 4" size now have spread to a 8 foot circle. Gorgeous looking. There also is another flower there (not in water) that is some kind of Columbine but I can't find the variety anywhere in pictures. It is bright red with a school bus yellow tips. Definitely a Columbine. Also a bush which grows to 7 feet high that has pink flowers resembling the shape of "angels trumpets" but only 2" long. Any thoughts???

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Comments (6)

Carol_from_ny
17 years ago
My guess is there's two possible reasons you are finding these flowers where they are. Squirrels or a gardener who used the area as a dump site for a compost pile.
Squirrels will dig up bulbs and replant them. All it takes is one. Siberian Iris are a hardy lot. Columbine too are very hardy. The seeds spread easily. All it takes is a child or and adult tossing a seed head and a few dozen seeds are sown.
It might even be the area you found your plants in was at one time part of someones home...the home might be gone but the plants continued on.
penny1947
17 years ago
I don't know about the Irises as I am just learning which ones grow in which kind of soil but I can tell you that your columbine definitely sounds like native eastern columbine (Aquilegia Canadensis) from your description. I believe it is the onely one that is red with the yellow tips. The seeds of my plant this year have already sprouted and are about 6 inches tall already

Penny
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remy_gw
17 years ago
Hi,
Many iris that can live in water are also fine in a regular garden setting.
I don't believe you found Siberian Iris though. You probably found a native species water iris. Because of the slender foliage I suspect you found Iris prismatica. There are a couple of pics on the link. There is also a clickable link on the page to the more commonly known Iris versicolor(Blue Flag Water Iris).
Also, I agree with Penny, you found native columbine.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: Iris prismatica
lilium_guy56
Original Author
17 years ago
Note to REMY. Took a look at your link. One of them is the Larger blue flag....IRIS VERSICOLOR "HARLEQUIN BLUE FLAG". The other variety IS NOT those 2. The one that is there the most is extremely darker blue almost a dark purple with a tiny bit of yellow inside. And it grows all over there.
To PENNY...thats the one. Thanks. I assume I can dig some up and tranplant them. They just look out of place there in the deep woods. The Irises are not PRIMATICA.
remy_gw
17 years ago
Hi again,
Species iris can vary in color, but since you are saying it is a dark purple, perhaps it is Iris virginica. It sometimes is a pretty purple color.
Remy
penny1947
17 years ago
Lillium guy
yes you can transplant your columbine. I move mine around all the time. In fact the seeds I sowed this year already from my plants right after they were harvested will stay where they are now and then I will transplant some in the spring as I had way more germinate than I expected. They seem to have a higher germination rate if the seeds are sown as soon as they are ready to be harvested. Columbine will also cross very easily with other columbines so if you want to keep the species pure then you will have to plant them in an area where there are no other columbines for them to cross with.

Penny